The number of unemployed in Malta in the third quarter of 2020 stood at 12,589 (2.9%), up by 0.6% in the same quarter last year, according to a survey released on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the total of inactive persons totalled 164,659 (37.7%), down 0.8 per cent from the same quarter last year.

The total number of persons in employment during the third quarter of 2020 remained almost at par with the previous quarter, according to the Labour Force Survey estimates. 

On average, out of every 100 persons aged between 15 and 64 years, 74 were employed. The male employment rate for this age bracket was 80.8 per cent while that for females stood at 65.5 per cent.

The largest share of employed persons was recorded among those aged between 25 and 34 years, for both males and females. Self-employed persons accounted for 16.1 per cent of all those with a main job.

The majority of employed persons worked on a full-time basis and amounted to 229,690. A further 30,041 had a part-time job as their primary employment. Results show that, on average, full-timers usually worked 42.2 hours while part-timers worked 22.5 hours per week.

The average monthly basic salary of employees for the third quarter of 2020 was estimated at €1,536. The highest basic salary was recorded in the financial and insurance activities sector.

Average monthly salaries varied from €994 among persons employed in elementary occupations to €2,197 among managers.

The unemployment rate for the third quarter of 2020, stood at 4.6 per cent. The largest share of unemployed persons was recorded among persons aged 25 to 74 years.

Females accounted for 59.3 per cent of total inactive persons and those over 65 years made up the highest share of the inactive. Over 40 per cent were
inactive because they had reached retirement age or were taking up early retirement.